North Carolina lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a revised U.S. House map backed by President Donald Trump that is intended to help Republicans win an additional seat in next year’s elections.
The new congressional map reshapes the state’s only current swing district, held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis, by adding more Republican-leaning voters along the coast and shifting some inland voters into an adjacent Republican-held district.
While the GOP already controls 10 of the 14 House districts in North Carolina — a state Trump won by 51% last year — the revised map satisfies the president’s call for GOP-led states to secure more congressional seats for the party nationwide.
“The purpose of this map was to pick up a Republican seat. We’ve stated that over and over again,” state Sen. Ralph Hise, who helped draw the altered map, said this week.
The revised districts cannot be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, though a legal challenge by Democrats or civil rights groups is likely.
The administration most recently pushed for similar redistricting efforts in Indiana, but the state’s Senate chamber does not have the votes to pass a new congressional map, according to a spokesperson for Indiana Senate Republican Leader Rodric Bray.
Here's the latest:
Senators react to latest strike on alleged drug boat
The eighth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, this time in the eastern Pacific Ocean, is drawing mixed reactions on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said: “I am deeply alarmed, in fact angry, that we have received no information about the facts here — where the boats are going, what they are carrying, who is financing them and what kind of justification there can be for using the United States military to attack civilians in this way?”
He said the way to go after drug smuggling is to interdict the boats and interrogate those on board, “not just destroy the smugglers who are likely to be at the bottom of the smuggling chain.”
Republican Sen. John Kennedy, of Louisiana, said he’s met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the boat strikes.
“He has researched the legal ramifications carefully, and he believes we’re on solid ground in attacking these narco-terrorists,” he said. “I trust his judgment.”
Trump says ‘not much’ of original East Wing was left before it was demolished
The president is justifying part of the White House’s East Wing facade being removed to make room for a new ballroom he’s building by saying that “not much” was left of the original construction.
He said part of the White House was more than a century-old and ready to be replaced but that “certain areas are being left.”
Trump also said, “We’re also working with the military” on the project to make sure it is stellar.
During his comments, the president said the ballroom’s price tag could be $300 million, when he’d previously said it would cost $250 million.
He bristled at suggestions that his administration hasn’t been transparent about the work: “I think we’ve been more transparent than anybody’s ever been.”
Trump sees Xi as wanting to overcome differences on trade
Previewing his planned meeting next week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Trump indicated that he believes the U.S. had the upper hand. Trump has threatened import taxes of an additional 100% in response to China limiting the exporting of rare earth elements used in advanced technologies.
“The tariffs are much more powerful than the rare earth,” Trump said.
Both issues could hurt global economic growth, as a loss of access to rare earths could disrupt supply chains. Meanwhile, tariffs at the rates floated by Trump could essentially halt trade between the world’s two largest economies.
Trump says he’ll talk to China’s president about Russia-Ukraine war during South Korea meeting
“I think he could have a big influence on Putin,” Trump said of Xi Jinping.
Beijing has yet to confirm that the leaders will meet, but the two certainly have plenty to talk about beyond Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Trump says he's determined to keep beef prices down
The president says he’ll talk with ranchers about beef price concerns, claiming his trade policies “saved” the industry.
Lauding his implementation of tariffs and predicting ”$2 gasoline,” Trump said, “The only cost that’s really up is beef.”
Trump’s plan to cut record beef prices by importing more meat from Argentina is running into heated opposition from U.S. ranchers who are enjoying some rare profitable years. Experts say the president’s move probably wouldn’t lead to cheaper prices at grocery stores.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America and other farming groups have criticized Trump’s idea because they say it could harm American ranchers and feedlot operators.
Trump says he hopes new Russia oil sanctions will help push Putin to reason
“Hopefully he’ll become reasonable,” Trump said of Putin. “And hopefully Zelenskyy will be reasonable, too. You know, it takes two to tango, as they say.”
Trump says he doesn’t feel bad ordering US strikes against suspected drug vessels because he’s ‘saving’ lives
“The only way you can’t feel bad about it ... is that you realize that every time you see that happen, you’re saving 25,000 lives,” the president said of the series of strikes off of Venezuela.
He insisted of such strikes, “We have legal authority. We’re allowed to do that.”
Trump said similar strikes could eventually come on land, in which case his administration may subsequently go to Congress for authorization.
Lawmakers from both parties have increasingly expressed concerns about Trump ordering a series of strikes against suspected drug vessels without providing Congress many details.
Appearing alongside Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former senator, defended such strikes, saying, “If people want to stop seeing drug boats blow up, stop sending drugs to the United States.”
Trump says it would take too long to train Ukrainians on Tomahawk missiles
Trump defended his decision to not provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles because it would take too long to train the Ukrainian military to use them.
The president said it would take “minimal six months” or even a year to teach the long-range missile system to Ukrainians, adding that there is a “tremendous learning curve.”
The Trump administration had previously considered the possibility of providing the weapons to Ukraine to help stop the war there started by Russia. But Trump shut down the option after speaking with Russian leader Vladimir Putin by suggesting that the U.S. needed to preserve its supply of Tomahawk missiles.
Merkley finishes Senate speech protesting Trump after more than 22 hours
Led by Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, Democrats seized the Senate floor on Wednesday to protest Trump’s presidency amid the government shutdown and push for Republicans to negotiate with them on expiring health subsidies.
Merkley spoke for more than 22 hours — from 6:21 p.m. Tuesday to 5:00 p.m. Wednesday — pausing for lengthy questions from other Democratic senators.
His speech was one of the longest in Senate history, just short of a similar speech in April by Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. Booker, who was also protesting Trump, broke the record with a speech that lasted longer than 25 hours, surpassing a 1957 speech by Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina filibustering the advance of the Civil Rights Act.
Authoritarianism is not around the corner, Merkley said as he wrapped up his speech. “It is here right now.”
Trump says ‘I just felt it was time’ for Russia sanctions
The comments on the new round of sanctions came during Trump’s meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office.
Rutte commends Trump on ‘tremendous’ success with Middle East
Rutte opened his remarks alongside Trump in the Oval Office by applauding the president’s efforts toward a ceasefire in the Middle East.
Saying he was texting Trump as the deal came into effect, Rutte thanked him for “everything you’re doing,” adding that his NATO colleagues “want to help” him bring peace between Ukraine and Russia.
US announces new sanctions against Russia’s 2 biggest oil companies
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blasted Moscow’s refusal to end its “senseless war” and said the Treasury Department was prepared to take further action if necessary to support Trump’s effort to end the war.
The sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as dozens of subsidiaries, come after months of bipartisan pressure on Trump to hit Russia with harder sanctions on its oil industry.
▶ Read more about the sanctions
Order blocking National Guard in Chicago extended indefinitely
After previously blocking the deployment of National Guard troops to the Chicago area for two weeks, U.S. District Judge April Perry on Wednesday extended that order indefinitely — until the case has been decided in her court or the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes.
Attorneys representing the federal government agreed to extend the order but emphasized that they would continue to press for an emergency order from the Supreme Court that would allow for the deployment of Guard troops.
University of Virginia strikes deal to pause Trump administration investigations
The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday announced an agreement with the University of Virginia to pause Trump administration civil rights investigations.
The Charlottesville campus became a target of Trump’s administration in April when the Justice Department began reviewing the university’s admissions and financial aid processes. Officials accused its president of failing to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices Trump has called unlawful.
The mounting pressure prompted James Ryan to announce his resignation as university president in June, saying the stakes were too high for others on campus if he opted to “fight the federal government in order to save my job.”
Under the agreement, the university will abide by department guidance for not engaging in “unlawful racial discrimination” and will provide relevant information and data to the department on a quarterly basis through 2028, the department said.
▶ Read more about civil rights investigations
Bessent says upcoming sanctions will be ‘one of the largest’ against Russia
During an interview with FOX Business host Larry Kudlow, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent elaborated on his comments about a planned “substantial pickup” in Russia sanctions.
“I can tell you that this will be one of the largest sanctions we’ve done against the Russian federation,” Bessent told Kudlow.
“These are sanctions not secondary tariffs,” Bessent said, adding that he’s encouraging Group of Seven wealthy nations and other allies to “come along with us.”
Treasury Secretary says U.S. plans ‘substantial pickup’ in Russia sanctions
“We are going to announce either after the close this afternoon or first thing tomorrow morning a substantial pickup in Russia sanctions,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a group of reporters outside of the White House, Wednesday afternoon.
Bessent did not provide details on the nature of the sanctions, or if they would be limited to Russian targets only.
His comments come as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was also on Capitol Hill visiting with lawmakers.
▶ Read more about Russia-Ukraine war
Trump administration announces another strike on alleged drug-carrying boat, in the Pacific Ocean
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says in a social media post the U.S. military conducted its eighth strike against an alleged drug vessel.
The Tuesday night strike occurred in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The seven previous strikes all targeted vessels in the Caribbean. According to Hegseth, the strike killed two people, bringing the death toll from all the strikes to at least 34 people.
In a brief video released by Hegseth, a small boat, half-filled with brown packages, is seen moving along the water. Several seconds into the video, the boat explodes and is seen floating motionless on the water in flames.
In his post, Hegseth took the unusual step of equating the alleged drug traffickers to the terror group that conducted the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
“Just as Al Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people,” Hegseth said, adding that “there will be no refuge or forgiveness—only justice.”
▶ Read more about military strike
California governor will deploy the National Guard to support food banks
The roughly 5.5 million low-income Californians who receive food assistance through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, could see delays in those benefits next month due to the government shutdown.
Gov. Gavin Newsom will deploy the National Guard to help by supporting food banks, he said Wednesday.
“This is serious, this is urgent – and requires immediate action,” the Democrat said. “Millions of Americans rely on food benefits to feed their families, and while Republicans in Washington drag their feet, California is stepping up once again to fill in the gaps.”
Voting restrictions increase, voting access laws don’t keep pace
State governments are continuing to pass restrictive voting laws but the pace of laws increasing access has dropped, according to a report from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School and the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.
As of early October 2025, 16 states have enacted restrictive 29 restrictive laws, which will be in effect for the 2026 midterms. The action is close to a record set in 2021 and fueled by false claims of widespread election fraud.
That year, 17 states passed 32 restrictive laws, marking the highest total in the 14 years the Brennan Center has been tracking such legislation. This year, the number of laws passed expanding voting rights is 30, more than a 50% drop from 2021 when 62 such laws were passed.
Trump says GM and Ford leaders thanked him for his truck tariffs
Trump posted on his social media site that General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Ford Motor Co. chairman William Clay Ford phoned him to “thank” him for putting tariffs on mid-size and large trucks.
“They told me that, without Tariffs, it would be a very hard, long ‘slog’ for Truck and Car Manufacturers in the United States,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “I told them, it’s very simple, this is a National Security matter.”
So far this year, the stock of both companies are up nearly 30%, having recovered from a drop earlier in the year when Trump rolled out his tariffs.
While the president has portrayed his tariffs as helping domestic automakers, he recently adjusted his tariffs so that automakers can get rebates on imported parts in some of their vehicles, lessening the financial blow to their balance sheets.
Indiana Senate lacks votes for redistricting
A spokesperson for Indiana Senate Republican Leader Rodric Bray confirmed to the AP that the chamber does not have the votes to pass a new congressional map.
“The votes aren’t there for redistricting,” Molly Swigart said in a emailed message.
The news comes a week after Vice President JD Vance visited Indianapolis as the White House pressures the solidly Republican state to redraw it’s congressional map. GOP Gov. Mike Braun has said a special session on redistricting will likely happen.
North Carolina adopts new Trump-backed US House districts aimed at gaining a Republican seat
North Carolina lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a revised U.S. House map backed by Trump that is intended to help Republicans win an additional seat in next year’s elections.
The new congressional map reshapes the state’s only current swing district, held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis, by adding more Republican-leaning voters along the coast and shifting some inland voters into an adjacent Republican-held district. The GOP already controls 10 of the 14 House districts in North Carolina, a state Trump won by 51% last year.
The revised districts cannot be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, though a legal challenge by Democrats or civil rights groups is likely.
▶ Read more about North Carolina House map
White House uses USDA funds to open offices during shutdown
The administration is tapping into the Commodity Credit Corporation, an agency within the Agriculture Department, to reopen key offices nationwide that help farmers and ranchers access federal aid.
The USDA says about 2,100 Farm Service Agency offices will be open, with two workers at each office, even though the government shutdown continues and no federal workers are getting paid, unless the administration finds an alternate way to do so.
A White House official says the money to reopen the offices is coming from the CCC, which is allowed to borrow money from Treasury to help stabilize prices. The person was granted anonymity to speak about the administration’s plans that were not yet publicized.
— Seung Min Kim
Trump administration preparing for visit to US by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman next month
That’s according to several people familiar with the planning.
Work is underway to prepare a package of agreements Trump and the crown prince could sign or witness during the visit, U.S. officials familiar with the plans for the trip said. The trip is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 17-19, but the timing and status of the visit could change, according to two people familiar with the planning.
Those people and the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the trip before it has been announced. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment, and the Saudi Embassy declined to comment.
Details of the agreements to be signed weren’t immediately clear, but many are expected to be commercial and trade deals under the framework of a Strategic Economic Partnership that Trump signed with the crown prince during the Republican president’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May.
— Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani and Darlene Superville
▶ Read more about relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia
Why the Treasury doesn’t want you to see White House demolition photos
The U.S. Treasury Department sent an email to agency employees this week, telling them not to share photos of East Wing demolition, making way for a new White House ballroom.
“As construction proceeds on the White House grounds, employees should refrain from taking and sharing photographs of the grounds, to include the East Wing,” the email states. The contents of the email, viewed by The Associated Press, directs employees to contact the Treasury press office for any prior approvals.
A Treasury official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said sharing photographs of the White House complex during the demolition could potentially reveal sensitive items, including security features or confidential structural details.
— Seung Min Kim and Fatima Hussein
Agriculture Department is reopening some 2,100 offices to help farmers access $3B in aid
That’s despite the ongoing government shutdown.
The USDA said each Farm Service Agency office will have two workers but didn’t explain where the money will come from to pay those workers during the shutdown. These offices help farmers apply for farm loans, crop insurance, disaster aid and other programs.
A USDA spokesperson said this move reflects Trump’s commitment to helping farmers and ranchers, who are traditionally some of his strongest supporters. Recently, some of them have been unhappy with Trump’s latest moves although his support remains strong across rural America.
Just this week, ranchers were unhappy with Trump’s idea to import more beef from Argentina because that could hurt their profits, and earlier this month soybean farmers complained that a $20 billion aid package for Argentina allowed that country to sell soybeans to China. Farmers are also still waiting on details of an aid package Trump promised to help them survive his trade war with China, but that aid has been put on hold because of the shutdown.
House Speaker Mike Johnson welcomes Trump’s ‘glorious’ White House ballroom
The GOP speaker said other presidents have also renovated the White House and didn’t face as much criticism as Trump.
At a morning news conference at the Capitol, Johnson listed off past renovations — from the swimming pool to the basketball court — and said Trump’s “glorious” new ballroom will be paid for by private donors.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon is still speaking on the Senate floor after 15 hours
Merkley held the chamber open all night to protest Trump’s “tightening authoritarian grip on the country” amid the government shutdown.
Merkley started speaking at 6:21 p.m. Tuesday evening and has been talking for more than 15 hours, with occasional breaks for questions from other Democratic senators who’ve joined him on the floor.
By holding the floor open all night, Merkley forced Senate floor staff, security and other support workers who are currently unpaid to work overtime hours. The government has been shut down since Oct. 1 as Democrats have demanded an extension of federal health care subsidies and Republicans have refused to negotiate until the government is reopened.
Final report on US hunger blocked during the government shutdown
The U.S. Agriculture Department in September said it would scrap the annual household food security report after 30 years, stating that it had become “overly politicized” and “rife with inaccuracies.”
The final report, for 2024, was scheduled for release Thursday, but all reports and data releases have ceased, an agency spokesperson said in a statement.
Ending the report will make it difficult to gauge the extent of hunger in the U.S. amid deep cuts in federal food assistance programs and the effect of tariffs and immigration crackdowns on rising food prices, said Joseph Llobrera, of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank.
“If USDA read its own reports, they would realize it’s apolitical,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to meet with Israel’s Netanyahu amid Gaza ceasefire efforts
Rubio will travel to Israel to meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, the Israeli government announced Wednesday.
The announcement comes as the Trump administration works to shore up the Gaza ceasefire deal.
▶ Read more about Mideast tensions
Vice President JD Vance meets privately with hostage families during his second day in Israel
The meeting was private and closed to press coverage.
According to Vance’s office, other participants included his wife, Usha Vance; Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel; hostages who were returned alive under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas; and family members of deceased hostages whose remains have yet to be returned by Hamas.
Relatives of victims of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, also attended the meeting.
Vance also met separately Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Putin directs drills of Russian nuclear forces as his summit with Trump is put on hold
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday directed drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces that featured practice missile launches, an exercise that came as his planned summit on Ukraine with Trump was put on hold.
The Kremlin said that as part of the maneuvers involving all parts of Moscow’s nuclear triad, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was test-fired from the Plesetsk launch facility in northwestern Russia, and a Sineva ICBM was launched by a submarine in the Barents Sea. The drills also involved Tu-95 strategic bombers firing long-range cruise missiles.
The exercise tested the skills of military command structures, the Kremlin said in a statement.
▶ Read more about Russia’s nuclear drills
North Korea test-fires ballistic missiles ahead of Trump’s Asia trip
North Korea performed its first ballistic missile tests in five months Wednesday, days before Trump and other leaders are expected to meet in South Korea.
South Korea’s military said it detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles that were launched from an area south of Pyongyang and flew about 350 kilometers (220 miles) toward the northeast. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t release more specific flight details but said the missiles didn’t land in the sea.
Trump is to leave for Asia at the end of the week in the first trip to the region of his second term. He plans to go to Malaysia first for a regional summit, then head to Japan before traveling on to South Korea for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, an annual summit meant to promote economic integration and trade.
▶ Read more about tensions between North Korea and South Korea
Japan says it plans to tell Trump it will build up military and upgrade security strategy
Japan’s new foreign minister said Wednesday that his country plans to show its determination to further build up its defense to rapidly adapt to changing warfare realities and growing tension in the region when Trump visits Tokyo next week.
Trump is expected to hold talks next Tuesday with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office Tuesday after being elected Japan’s first female leader.
Takaichi, who had spent much of past few weeks embroiled in internal political wrangling, has to face major diplomatic tests within days of taking office — Trump’s visit and two regional summits.
▶ Read more about U.S. relations with Japan
